Sheet handling arrangement



July 5, 1938.

P. H. LONG ET AL SHEET HANDLING ARRANGEMENT Filed March 1'7, 1936 kw A 0 av N E i @M 3 N Z. km. N rm." k fl MW U o w N a w bl! A? Q a m R 1 .I r. a k w Mm Q i .4 Q x. A

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Patented July 5," 1938 PATENT OFFICE 2,122,430 1 snss'r HANDLING massossmsr Paul H. Long, and Terrence W. Allsworth,

Middletown, Ohio Application March 17, 1936, Serial No. 69,388

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for piling relatively flat metal sheets, plates or the like. The invention ,relates alsoto light gages. In the manufacture of light sheets,

two or three or often four pieces of relativelyheavy gage metal either from the commercial hot strip mill or material broken down on other hot mills, are piled together or matched. This pack is then doubled. or folded over closely into a pack one-half its length and then rolled with the doubled end first into the mill.

To those skilled in the art of rolling sheet metal, it will be readily understood that the piling of packs as delivered from the hot mill presents a problem different from the piling of flat material such as sheets of paper and the like, other than that occasioned by the mere difference in size and weight. In normal operation, the hot mill cannot be held so closely to the correct contour that all packs will befiat. For instance, if the roll is slightly hot at the center, generally referred to as full, the packs rolled on that mill .will be long at the center. This makes the pack have a tendency to be slightly curved upward and quite stiff; hence the pack cannot be run satisfactorily through a pinch roll-or the like, in order to give 5 the pack suflicient forward motion for piling. Also if the packs are not properly matched, there is a tendency for them to "spread or increase in size laterally in the mill which may result in irregular edges or, what is worse, the edges may crack inwardly toward the center of the sheet. Hence there is a tendency for these irregular edges to split off partially, and to turn upwardly or downwardly, thus preventing them from going through a pinch roll for piling.

It is the object of the invention to provide a piler for piling packs which are non-uniform in flatness, as well as to pile plates which are moreor less flat. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is readily adjustable to pile sheets, .or packs of sheets of different weight, width and length. 7

It is a further object of the invention to provide a piler for hot mill packs which is adjustable independently of contour or shape" of the pack of sheets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a piler for sheet metal which is not aifected by checked in or ragged edges of the sheets or packs.

Other objects and purposes will appear from a more detailed description of the invention following hereinafter taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein: Fig. 1 is a plan view of the piler shown as attached to the run-out table of a hot mill, a cold mill, an automatic shear, or the like;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a partial section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

4 is a partial section taken on line 4-4 of y g.

F1Fig. 5 is a partial. section taken on line 5-5 of The invention is based upon the principle of critically controlling the amount of energy which is transferred from a supporting advancing roller to the packs or sheets of material advanced thereby to impart a suitable forwarding movement to the material and supplementing this control by suitable aligning means to arrest the moving materlal in suitable location.

In Figure 1 is shown a delivery table T, which may form the output end of a mill or shear, or any type of production machine. At the forward end of the table is disposed the advancing roll i for the material, journaled at its ends at 2-2' and driven through gear reducer 3- by motor 4. The rotative speed of this roll is such as to impart to the pack sufllcient kinetic energy to carry the pack forward to the position in which the pile is desired. The amount of kinetic energy which is transferred from the roll I to the pack or sheet travellingthereover is controlled by idler roll 5. This roll I, journaled at its ends 6, is adjustable upwardly or downwardly by screws I having a worm wheel integral therewith, actuated through worm I and handle ratchet 8 located between the deliverytable T and the roll I. By adjusting the elevation of this non-driven idler roll 5 with respect to roll I and the table, it is possible to control the energy imparted to a pack or sheet. Thus in piling long packs or sheets, it is necessary to provide suiilcient energy of motion to the packs in order that they may be carried forward to clear the delivery roll I; hence the idler roll is lowered in order that nearly all of the weight of the packs rest on the driven roll I.

In piling short material the idler roll I is raised considerably above the height of the driven roll I in order that the kinetic energy to the pack reduced By so doing, sheets of any reasonable length can be readily piled.

The piler, operating as described above, is exceptionally applicable for use in piling loose packs from the mill. In rolling gages whereinit is not necessary to double the packs, usually 16 to 22 gages, the material is rolled hot on a cold mill, that is, a mill with its rolls cooled by Water or analogous fluid. These packs usually consist of two sheets which are often contoured differently from side to side and will not enter a pairof rolls orany apparatus which has a member bearing down on the top of the pack.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, lateral guides are provided both on the feeding apparatus and the final piling unit, these guides being readily adjustable to accommodate packs of different widths. On the table T is mounted a screw H having a right hand thread on one end and a left hand thread on the other and a sprocket l2 mounted thereon. A pair of threaded bronze nuts l3 engage the threads of screw II and are slidably mounted in a T slot l4. The shaft II is journaled at its ends and is secured against longitudinal motion by having the end journals seated in fixed bearings, and since the bronze nuts I3 are threaded in opposite directions, the rotation of the screw II will cause lateral guides I5, extending forwardly of screw shaft l I at right angles thereto, to move inwardly or outwardly simultaneously. On the front end of each lateral guide I5 is provided a. pivot H3 at which is attached rotatively one end of a lateral guide H, the other end of which is slotted and mounted on the fixed pin l upon each side of the table. Thus if a sheet is delivered from the mill, shear, or other apparatus, a bell mouth isformed by the lateral guides I! which directs the sheets between the opposed lateral guides l which in turn guide them in the proper forward direction.

In the operation of a rolling mill, other than the so-called continuous process, different lengths of material are rolled during the course of a days operation. Hence for the piler to be successful and practical in operation, it must be capable of adjustment in such a way that long packs or short packs can be piled without injury to the packs of any lengths, and with sufficient uniformity that a crane can pick up the piles formed by the piler.

The piler must also be readily adjustable to pile sheets or packs of the different widths which might be rolled during a days operation. To those skilled in the rolling mill practice, it is readily understood that in any apparatus for piling, provision must be made to readily remove the piling guides in order that a crane may lift the pile of packs. Furthermore, when the packs are piled on conveyors, provision must be made to permit the withdrawal of the packs when they attain the proper size, so that operation may continue.

In order to stack the sheets with sufilcient uniformity to enable a crane to pick them up as a unit, lateral guiding means is provided to align the sheets on the sides as they come to rest in con junction with a stop for limiting their longitudinal travel. The longitudinal position of the packs is controlled almost entirely by the energy imparted by roll I, nevertheless it is desirable to have an adjustable end stop against which the pack comes to rest softly. In Figuresl and 2 is shown a slidably mounted upright member 20 to which is fixed a yieldable stop 2|. The stop 2| is secured to the upright member 20 by screws, pins, or the like 22a. Flexible units 23 such as springs or rubber cushions are disposed between the elements 20 and 2| and when operating with heavy plates it has been found desirable to use an air cylinder cushion and adjuster, the specific resilient means employed depending upon the service. By lifting the cam handle 24, the cam 25 is released and the stop unit can be slid to any desired position along the rail 26 extending longitudinally of the piler (Fig. 2).

The details of construction of the rigid upright member 20 is shown in greater detail in Figure 3. The side plates 20' of the member 20 have hooked lips 22 which extend beneath the flange of the piling rail 26. Thus if the cam 25 is rotated clockwise around the mounting pin 2! therefor, the end stop is locked in position.

The lateral guides l5 of the impelling part of the piling apparatus direct the packs or sheets forwardly into the proper position, but as they leave the roll, it is necessary to position them more accurately in order to superpose them one above the other. One or more pairs of vertical lateral guides 28-28 are provided on the piling rack. These guides,in the form of plates, are positioned further apart on the forward side facing the advancing material than on the rearward side, thus forming a funnel or bell-mouth through which the packs or sheets pass. This is necessary in order to prevent the corner of a poorly positioned pack or sheet from striking thev forward edge of the vertical side plates 28-28. The displacement of the plates 28 and 28' of each pair is readily adjustable in order to form piles of diiferent widths. In the illustrated embodiment three sets of guide-plates 28--28' are shown, although more or less may be used,

and they are arranged in the following manner.

Each screw shaft, Figures 4 and 5, engages with its threads interiorly-threaded nuts 39. adjacent each end. Each nut 39 is secured to a runner 3| by means of a steel plate 32 and the bolts 33. These runners travel along bars 48 extending transversely of the frame and it is readily seen that when the screw shaft 29 is rotated, the runners 3| advance toward each other, or apart, depending on the direction of rotation of the screw shaft. The confined limit of travel of the nuts 39 between the transverse bars 48 serves to maintain the plates in upright guiding position despite any glancing impacts of the advancing sheets since the nuts 39 with the plates mounted thereon as described hereinafter cannot tilt or turn but are capable of movement only longitudinally of the screw shaft.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the lateral guides 15 and 28-28 are adjusted simultaneously and concomitantly in the following manner. A hand wheel 34 is fixed upon a shaft 44, journaled in bearings 35-35-'. Upon this shaft 44 are mounted sprockets 36 and 31. The former transmits its movement over chain 49 to the sprocket l2 of the adjusting screw II, and the latter transmits its movement to idler shaft 41, which, in turn, by means of chain 40 or other suitable transmission means actuates the sprocket 38 mounted on the screw shaft 29.-of the piling unit. When more than one set of guide plates 28 is used, the several sets are operated synchronously by a system of bevel gears 58 on screw shafts 29 meshing with bevel gears 59 on shaft 6|. Thus when the hand wheel 34 is turned, the lateral guides l and guides 28-28 on the piling unit move simultaneously and in the same direction to effect an adjustment of the width of the pile which is obtained.

The exigencies of operation require certain novel features relative to the vertical lateral guides 28-28 in order to facilitate the removal of lifts by a crane and to permit a yielding thereof when the nature or size of the sheets passing these guides require it, such lifts consisting of a supporting plate or tray with the pack of sheets disposed thereupon. In the preferred embodiment the plates 2828' are pivotally mounted upon the respective runners3l by means of pins 52, permitting a spreading of the plates 28- -28' when a pile is lifted from thepiling unit, which may be done without disturbing the rack of the piler. The above-described mounting may be seen by reference to detailed Figures 4 and 5. When piling rails 26 are employed for supporting the stack of sheets or packs, theheight of these is chosen so that no part of the pile is ever below the center lines of pins 52, in order that the guide plates 2828' may never be bound by the pack, when it is desired to pick the lift off of the rack of the piler.

In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of screws 43 are provided in the piler base 54 which may be adjusted readily to compensate for floor irregularities. Where the-piler is adapted to be used with an automatic shear, or where double end shearing is desirable, and where the last shear is adjustable in length, instead of the adjusting screws 43 and the piler base 54, rollers are provided in-orderthat the piler-may always be in the proper position the longitudinal position of the shear.

In operation, it is somewhat difficult to determine the relative elevation of the driven roll and the idler roll toinsure piling of sheets or packs of a given length. Therefore an indicator 55 is provided on the side of the frame which is graduated to indicate the length of the sheet to be piled. It is also desirable to attach a scale 45 to one of the half scale, in order that when the guides read on the 30 inch mark, the piler is ready to receive 30 inch wide sheets.

In order to prevent jamming of the machine, particularly when the front end of a pack should be turned down, means is provided to prevent the pack from dropping'between roll 5 and the delivery roll I. A small skid plate I8 is mounted ahead of roll i to enforce a pack to climb up over the delivery roll, and there is also a skid plate I8 beyond roll I in order to kick a pack forward to its proper position if it has not been delivered against the end stop completely.

While only one method of controlling the kinetic energy imparted to a pack or pack'of sheets for piling has been described, others may be employed. Thus, in place of the idler roll 5 which controls the amount of weight of the sheet which rests on the driven roll I, a variable speedmotor 4 may be used which is not as simple to control as the arrangement described herein.

The open topped piler, herein described, with its new and novel arrangement of parts, provides a piler that has the advantage that a cobfor piling regardless of base members-graduated in one- Y bodied in concrete form and as operating in a specific manner for purposes of illustration, it.

should be understood that we do not limit our invention thereto, since various modifications .will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention, thescope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

Having described our invention, what we claim is 1. In an apparatus for stacking heavy metal-- lie flat units, a delivery table for said units, a feeding roll at the front end of said table, driving means for rotating said roll and thereby successively advancing the units coming into the field of operation of said roll, and means for varying the amount of kinetic energy transferred from said feeding roll to said successive units to control the extent of the forward movement thereof. I

' 2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said last-mentioned means comprises anadjustable member adapted to vary the elevation of the flat units with respect to said feeding roll to adjustably control the gravitational component exerted by the fiat units upon said roll.

3. In an apparatus for stacking metallic sheets of irregular formation, a delivery table for said sheets, a feeding roll at the front end of said table, driving means for said roll whereby to' advance successively the sheets coming into the field of operation of said roll, a second roll on said feeding table behind said feeding roll, and means for adjusting the elevation of said second roll to vary the distribution of the weight of said sheets therebetween and said feeding roll whereby the extent of the forward movement of said sheets is controlled.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein guide plates are disposed adjacent said feeding roll in the front and in the rear thereof to assure a smooth advancing of the sheets and to prevent a jamming of the machine.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said delivery table is provided with lateral upstanding stationary guides to direct the flat units in a line perpendicular to the axis of said feeding roll and means for adjusting the spacing of said guides.

6. In an apparatus for stacking metallic sheets of irregular formation, a delivery table for said sheets, a feeding roll at the front end of said table, driving means for said roll whereby to ad- Vance successively the sheets supported by said roll, lateral guide plates on said delivery table overlying said feeding roll adaptedto direct the -a rack frame in front of said feeding roll for receiving the pile of stacked sheets, a second roll on said feeding table behind said feeding roll, means for adjusting the elevation of said second roll to vary the distributionpf the weight of said sheets therebetween and said feeding roll whereby the extent of the forward movement of said sheets is controlled, lateral guide plates on in engagement with each one of said threaded portions, guide tracks adjacent said screw shaft for preventing rotary movement of said nuts and for enforcing the travel of said nuts longitudinally of said screw shaft, and stationary substantially vertical guide plates pivotally mounted upon said nuts below the level of the top of said piling raii whereby said plates are free to swing outwardly without binding upon the withdrawal of a pile of sheets from said rack frame.

PAUL H. LONG;

TERRENCE W. ALLSWORTH. 

